North American Butterflies and Moths List

The definitive website on wildbirds & nature

Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Missouri

Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis)

Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis [Doubleday])

Wing span: 1 3/8 - 2 inches (3.5 - 5.1 cm).

Identification: Upperside is pale yellow-orange with dark borders
and markings. Hindwing above and below has some white-centered
submarginal spots; hindwing below is pale with a large white
crescent at the margin.

Life history: Males perch and patrol all day in open areas. Females
lay eggs in batches of about 100 on the underside of host plant
leaves. Young caterpillars move in groups as they skeletonize
leaves. Partially-grown caterpillars hibernate.

Flight: One brood in the north from June-July, two broods in
remainder of range from May-September. Possibly three to four
broods in the Deep South and Texas.